Ohio State comes back from down 17 to beat No. 18 Maryland, 73-70

The Buckeyes and Terrapins battled in Columbus, with the home team coming out on top after trailing by a ton.

They weren’t focused on getting revenge Thursday night, but the Ohio State men’s basketball team (14-9, 6-6) has not forgotten how they were treated in College Park back in December. Maryland (17-6, 7-5) demoralized Ohio State at the Xfinity Center during their first meeting, taking a 50-17 lead into the halftime break and eventually winning by 24.

While Jake Diebler said that the team was not focused on what happened last time they played Maryland, the result was, “definitely still in the back of his mind.”

The Terrapins, on the other hand, were ascending coming into Thursday night’s game, having won six of their last seven games and breaking into the AP Poll this week at No. 18.

It was not easy, but Ohio State was able to get payback for the embarrassing December loss on Thursday night, surviving at home against the 18th-ranked Turtles, 73-70. Bruce Thornton led the way with 33 points, playing all 40 minutes.

The game couldn’t start out any worse for Ohio State, as Maryland scored on four of its first five possessions and were fouled on the fifth. The Terrapins went ahead 8-0 on a Julian Reese layup just over three minutes into the game, and Diebler called timeout to talk to his bland, stagnant team.

Devin Royal finally found Ivan Njegovan for an easy layup 3:29 into the game to get on the board, but Maryland’s Rodney Rice answered with a midrange jumper to make it 10-2. By the time the first media timeout came around, Maryland still had not missed a shot.

Micah Parrish dropped in a straightaway three and hit a pair of free throws less than a minute later to create his own mini 5-0 run, cutting Maryland’s lead to 17-12 at the under-12 timeout. The Buckeyes adjusted and were over-committing to the paint, forcing guys like Selton Miguel and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to take jumpers rather than Maryland’s post players getting layups. The Terrapins were hitting some of them still, but the Buckeyes did mix in a few defensive stops.

Maryland responded with a 12-3 run, half of which was from free throws, to pull back ahead 29-15 with eight minutes remaining until halftime.

It looked like Maryland had this game wrapped up in the first half, but like they’ve done several times already this season, Ohio State ended the first half on modest run to give them momentum and the slightest glimmer of hope heading into the second half. Thornton knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled by Rice, then scored on a fast break to cut the deficit to 11. A Selton Miguel turnover led to another fast break, and this time it was Mobley who laid it in off the glass to make it 41-32 at the half.

Maryland shot 59.3% in the first half, while the Buckeyes hit at just a 36% clip. Ohio State’s saving grace in the first half was the charity stripe, where they were 12-for-14 over the first 20 minutes.

Ohio State wasn’t able to cut into Maryland’s lead over the first few minutes of the second half, going into the first media timeout still trailing by nine, 45-36. Thornton sprinted down the floor to prevent a fast break layup by Tafara Gapare, pinning it against the glass and wedging it into the corner of the iron for a jump ball. The basket would’ve put Maryland up 11.

A bad pass by Gillespie turned into a Sean Stewart steal, and the hulking sophomore forward took it all the way down the court and scored to cut Maryland’s lead to 47-42 with 12:26 left in the game. Ohio State was starting to get some stops, but still wasn’t making enough shots to come all the way back early in the second half.

Ohio State had multiple opportunities to make it a one-possession game during the second half, but went cold for several minutes and watched Maryland extend their lead back to 11 points with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were getting stops, but those stops weren’t turning into any type of offensive production at the other end. Maryland hung tough and held a 59-50 lead by the under-eight timeout.

Led by Bruce Thornton, Ohio State went on an 8-0 run in 89 seconds, cutting the deficit down to 61-58 with 5:30 remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were rotating well and forcing Maryland to take tough shots late in the clock, but it became clear as time went on that the clock was just as big a challenge for Ohio State as the Terrapins. The Buckeyes entered the second half down nine, and it took them 15 minutes to cut that deficit by six.

It got sweaty in the final three minutes. Thornton decided to take the game over with two minutes remaining, scoring on back-to-back possessions to put give Ohio State its first lead of the game, 67-66.

Queen drove to the basket and drew Stewart’s fifth foul of the game, and then hit both free throws to put Maryland back up, 68-67. On the very next possession, Thornton drove to the basket and was fouled by Maryland sophomore Deshawn Harris-Smith, and a goaltend was called as well. The basket counted, the free throw was good, and the Buckeyes took a 70-68 lead with 48 seconds remaining.

Rodney Rice drove on Mobley and scored over the top of him to tie things back up, 70-70, with 36 seconds left on the clock. After Ohio State used its final timeout, Bruce Thornton dribbled around for 15 seconds and then hoisted up a contested three, glassing it in to give Ohio State a 73-70 lead with seven seconds left.

The Terrapins got a good, clean look from three at the buzzer from Miguel, but it was no good. Buckeyes win, 73-70. It gave Thornton 31 points to go along with six assists, five rebounds, and three steals.

If you weren’t able to catch Ohio State’s fourth ranked win of the season Thursday night, here are a few key moments and stats from the Buckeyes’ get-even win over the Terrapins:

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Maryland hits its first seven shots

Thursday night was the worst start for Ohio State since, well, probably the last Maryland game. The Terrapins scored on seven of their first eight possessions, and on the eighth Queen was fouled and sent to the free throw line, where he happened to miss both shots. Maryland was up 15-2 not even five minutes into the game.

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Ohio State’s 10-2 run stops the ref from calling the fight

If this was a boxing match, the referee would’ve been asking if the bloodied Buckeyes could go on with 15 minutes still left in the first half. Maryland went ahead 15-2 to start the game, setting up yet another laugher over Ohio State.

However, the Buckeyes got a few defensive stops and went on a 10-2 run, with Parrish chipping in half of those 10 points. That cut it to 17-12 Maryland with still 12 minutes to go until halftime.

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Thornton called for a flagrant foul, Maryland spaces out lead

With Maryland up 25-15 and just over eight minutes left in the first half, Bruce Thornton brought the ball up while guarded by Maryland’s Jay Young. Young reached up and swatted the ball out of Thornton’s hands into the air. Both guards went for it, but Thornton extended his arm and pushed Young in the face.

After initially getting whistled for a standard foul, it was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul. Young hit both free throws to make it 27-15 Maryland, and the Turtles got the ball as well due to the flagrant.

Queen was fouled on a drive, and hit both free throws to make it a four-point possession for Maryland, putting them up 29-15.

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Ohio State goes nearly eight minutes without a basket

After Mobley hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 21-15 with 11:05 to go until halftime, Ohio State would go the next 7:55 without scoring a basket, getting seven points off of free throws and nothing more until Thornton scored on a layup with 3:10 to go until the break.

During that time, Maryland was able to increase their lead from six points to 15.

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Thornton chases down and pins Gapare’s layup on the glass

Down 45-36 with 16:11 left in the game, a missed three-pointer by Parrish turned into a long rebound for Tafara Gapare and a run out, with nobody in front of him. The 6-foot-9 junior from New Zealand raced down the floor but was met by Thornton, who is listed at 6-foot-2, at the rim.

Thornton leapt up and pinned the ball against the glass in the corner of the rim, causing a wedgie and a jump ball. Ohio State had the arrow, so the ball went back to Ohio State, and the deficit stayed where it was at nine points.

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Miguel’s triple puts Maryland up 11 with eight minutes to go

After Ques Glover cut the deficit to 52-46 with 9:28 remaining, Rodney Rice found Reese for a layup to push it back to 54-46. Mobley Jr. had a pretty open look from three but it was short and pushed off the front iron quickly, into the arms of Gillespie.

Maryland’s point guard ran up the court in a flash and found Miguel in the corner pocket for a three, and he buried it. Maryland went back up by 11, its largest lead of the second half, with 8:48 left in the game.

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Royal’s dunk cuts the deficit to three points with 5:30 to go

After Bruce Thornton missed a free throw that would’ve made it 61-57, Royal was able to grab the offensive rebound off the miss and slam it home to get Ohio State back within three, 61-58.

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Thornton’s three gives Ohio State its first lead of the night

Down 66-64, Mobley dribbled around for far too long but eventually flipped the ball to Thornton, who sprayed a three from the left wing with Rice in his face. It dropped and gave Ohio State its first lead of the game, 67-66.

With 2:02 remaining, Kevin Willard called timeout to draw up Maryland’s next possession with the crowd roaring. That possession turned into a shot clock violation, sending the crowd into even more of a frenzy.

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Thornton’s three with seven seconds left wins the game

After using his last timeout, Diebler clearly said “give the ball to Bruce and let’s win the game.”

The captain dribbled around for 15 seconds. Nothing opened up, so with two seconds left on the shot clock, he lifted up and glassed home a three-pointer from just in front of the Buckeyes’ bench, nailing it.

73-70.

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What’s next?

Ohio State (14-9, 6-6) travels to Nebraska (15-8, 5-7) to take on the Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska has won their last three games, including wins over two ranked teams in Illinois and Oregon. Nebraska is currently No. 48 in the NET, which means it will be a Quad-1 opportunity for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes’ game against Nebraska is set to tip off at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.